Alahan mrt 2008 4902.jpg

The domed basilica from the 6th century shows elements of the late-antique dome architecture as well as that of Justinian-Byzantine architecture. It has a nave and two aisles, a narthex and an apse. The apse is flanked by a Diaconicon to the south and a prosthesis to the nort (from Wikipedia: “Diaconicon: in the Eastern Orthodox and Greek-Catholic Churches, the name given to a chamber on the south side of the central apse of the church, where the vestments, books, etc, that are used in the Divine Services of the church are kept (the sacred vessels are kept in the Prothesis, which is on the north side of the sanctuary).”)

I have the feeling that this ornament (and some others spread evenly along the front of the church) probably supported representations of saints or such at some time.